I don't normally watch any of the current run of TV shows, but I just happened to catch a few minutes of "House of Horrors" last night while fiddling around with a TV set. This is a show where the crew sets out to trap dishonest tradesmen by having them do work at a house while recording everything with carefully secreted cameras and microphones.

Last night's included a landscaping company which was to install a water feature and rockery in the garden. Leaving aside the fact that the landscaping aspect certainly wasn't worth the £2000-plus being charged, we were shown the wiring which had been installed for the pump and lights.

The transformer for the lights had been put inside a plastic bag, the ends taped up around the cables, and then the whole lot buried in the rockery. The 240V feed from the house was spliced to the transformer (and presumably the pump) by using what was obviously just a choc-block taped over and then buried directly in the ground!

It was a little hard to tell from the limited amount we were shown, but it also appeared to me as though they'd just taken a length of twin-&-earth and buried it directly in the ground from the house. It might have been something like Hi-Tuf, but I doubt it.

We didn't see how the cable had been terminated in the house, although we were treated to a shot of the aforementioned lekky-trishun drilling through the wall for the cable -- Immediately to the left of an existing flush-mounted double 13A socket.

Hi Paul,I don't personally watch a lot of TV these days, mainly due to the fact that I don't have the time and when I do want to watch it, there isn't a lot worth watching on anyway, unless you are into the myriad reality and "naughty children" shows.Anyhow, We had a similar type of programme on here called "Target" that ran for a while and that caught out a lot of people in all sorts of areas.I can't help but think that sort of thing borders on entrapment, as in being filmed without thier permission.

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The transformer for the lights had been put inside a plastic bag, the ends taped up around the cables, and then the whole lot buried in the rockery.

I have a DIY manual here somewhere that was written in Australia that shows that particular method of installation.

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We didn't see how the cable had been terminated in the house, although we were treated to a shot of the aforementioned lekky-trishun drilling through the wall for the cable -- Immediately to the left of an existing flush-mounted double 13A socket.

Am I to assume that new circuits of this type are not required to be connected at the switch-board?.

If you want to see [i]real[/] Houses of Horrors look no further than 'DIY-SOS' on Discovery, and meet the folks who thoroughly destroy their own homes before a team of 'experts' put it all right. The amateurs do far worse than any incompetant 'cowboys' could ever imagine in their wildest dreams. Excruciatingly funny too.

Don't get me wrong either guys,If you do good work you have nothing to fear.An e-mail was sent to my old EC Company that myself and my Apprentice where filmed, but as there was nothing wrong with our conduct it would not be televised.That worries me a tad, is this just a televised hang-man show, showing only the worst of a Trade?.No wonder we can't get Apprentices!.

Am I to assume that new circuits of this type are not required to be connected at the switch-board?.

No, BS7671 allows something like that to be connected as a fused spur from the ring circuit, subject to proper installation, RCD protection, etc.

We didn't see how the circuit was actually run from the house. He may have fitted a fused connection unit, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just T&E cable into a 13A plug.

I should have also mentioned that he didn't appear to have removed the socket to even check which way the cables in the wall entered the box. He could easily have drilled straight into them -- BS7671 specifies zones directly inline vertically and horizontally from an outlet as being "safe" zones in which cables can be run without additional protection.

Interesting thing Paul,On one of the "Target" shows here, one of the scenarios, was for an electrician to install a socket outlet on the opposite side of a stud wall, to an existing one. (Called a back-to-back installation here)Electrician and his apprentice comes in and checks the existing socket outlet, it's OK, next thing you see is the apprentice at the switchboard and he turns the main switch off.All the cameras go off.Reality TV, big on ratings, short on brains. Camera comes back on as the pair are leaving.

And what was the subject of their first show. "Solar Pannel Salesmen" not the installation but the sales pitches used. It was just shocking to see the lenths that some salesmen went to to get a sale. Mostly to the elderly who have the least benifit to gain.

Put me in mind of a thread I seen in here where someone worked out the actual cost compaired to the saving of these devices.

The Target show "targeted" two friends of mine here who run their own carpet laying company. A couple of hard working, honest, dutch brothers whose father was a carpet layer and have both completed 4 year apprenticeships with reputeable companies.Master craftsmen in their trade in my opinion ( and my old mans a carpet layer). Between them their is 50 yrs experience in carpet-laying.

Target asked them to do a job and filmed it, and then asked the owner of their direct competitor to provide an analysis of the job. Of course this was biased and inaccurate. I watched this episode and it bothered me how Target can sensationalise and distort things. I haven't watched it since.

Target is famous here for exposing the "Electrician And The Underwear Drawer Incident". This was majorly embarrasing for the 99.9999 per cent of other electricians who will now find that homeowners won't trust an electrician unsupervised in their house anymore.

Theres got to be a better way of exposing bogus tradesmen than the reality TV method.